Mourners fill church for funeral of Jim Thorpe paratrooper

His ramrod straight military bearing suddenly sagging under the weight of his grief, Staff Sgt. Gary Leleux bade farewell to his friend, Andrew J. "A.J." Baddick.

"He's got a different set of wings now," the young airman said of Baddick, a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division. "A.J., if you can hear me, goodbye."

Leleux, who last spoke with Baddick weeks before his accidental death in Iraq on Sept. 29, spoke before an overflow crowd of mourners Thursday at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Jim Thorpe.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. today. Baddick, 26, will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

The young Army sergeant from Jim Thorpe hit his head and drowned Sept. 29 as he tried to rescue a soldier whose vehicle plunged into a canal near Abu Ghraib Prison. The soldier in the vehicle also died.

Baddick and Leleux met four years ago while stationed at Fort Hood, Texas.

"I hadn't really seen him since Afghanistan, but we communicated a lot by phone," said Leleux, who serves with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky.

"I talked with him the day he was leaving to go to Iraq," Leleux said. "He called me at the house.

"He said, "Take it easy' and I told him to be careful. He said "I'll see you if you get there' and I said, "OK."'

County Veteran Affairs Director Charles McHugh, overcome with emotion, stood on the church steps, tears streaming.

"The best of the best," was all he could say.

Baddick volunteered with Jim Thorpe fire and ambulance squads. A special service was scheduled for 9 p.m. by the emergency responders, but was delayed as the line of mourners, three and four across and spilling out the church doors, filed past the closed casket draped with the American flag.

Nesquehoning Fire Chief John McArdle was one of those from surrounding communities who came to pay his respects.

"We all are part of a brotherhood," he said.

Baddick's parents, Joseph M. Baddick of Centre Township, Berks County and Ann Baddick of Jim Thorpe, and their families embraced a steady stream of mourners, their sobs muffled by fierce embraces.

Pictures of Baddick were posted on the church porch and in the vestibule. They showed Baddick, an American flag scarf on his head, relaxing in a kayak and goofing around with friends. Another set of photos showed him in military uniform, his face serious.

Baddick was an expert swimmer who worked as a guide for Jim Thorpe River Adventures during high school and after graduation.

The fatal accident happened only about a month after Baddick, a 1997 Jim Thorpe Area High School graduate, arrived with the 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg, N.C.

He had just signed up for a second stint -- six years this time - - in the armed forces.

In 2002, he worked with computers tracking troops from Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom.

Baddick joined the Army in 1999 and completed basic training at Fort Hood, then graduated from jump school at Fort Benning in Georgia in February 2001.